Dirty Laundry Blog by Jennifer Hynes

Thelonious Monk, Rain, and War

November 24th, 2015
Thelonious Monk, Rain, and War. That is today, November 24, 2015, 5:06PM. I’m in my studio, got some time to paint and work in a couple GAP colab books. Spent some time researching galleries and getting warmed up to start writing Gallery Proposals to show the incredible work we’ve all been making. The time is now. As I drove down the street this morning and heard the news, a Russian plane shot down because it was in Turkish air space, apparently Russia’s fighting a different war, than the US, France, and Britain. I thought this really is WW3. At the same time I thought maybe this will finally bring the sane people of the world together, maybe there’s some way to move forward in peace. To keep the dream alive, to make this world a better place, corny I know. I know it’s definitely not a time for silence. I think art is one of the most important tools there is for communication. Definitely. It’s hard to stay the course. I don’t make any money at being an artist, I just spend money. I regard myself as a professional artist but I don’t think my husband does, I don’t blame him. I guess to be a professional artist there needs to be money coming in and a gallery. And I’m all for it.

Time is moving so fast, it’s already the end of November. Today is almost over. The past two days have been like that. I feel both grounded and panicked. Like I’m getting everything done but still have so much to do. I feel like I’m preparing for the war. Tying up loose ends, stocking up, getting strong. Yesterday I took my road bike out for the first time since the babies were born, I couldn’t believe how strong I am. I rode up my hill no problem, before it’s so steep I used to think I was going to tip over. I feel like the babies have turned me into a warrior. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been.

Time to finish up my beef stew, give the babies a bath, and read bedtime stories. Thank you Thelonious Monk for my music this afternoon. Thank you rain and wind and to the orange and red leaves blowing all around me and thank you crazy war mongers, with your destruction and constant fighting of a war that will never end you remind me how important people are and how we are all connected.
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And so it goes, Feeling a Change happening

November 23rd, 2015
There’s so much I want to write about right now because it’s been several days since I’ve written and so much has happened, personally and globally. Where do I begin? The present is probably best. First of all I’m running out of time as usual, it’s 3:40PM, it’s a studio day but it took me so long to get activated this morning I didn’t get into my studio till noon. I did have an exciting day working, still feeling the after effects of working on Colabs with Carl and Alvaro the other day, as well as my new energy I’ve accumulated from processing transitions that have happened inside me. The other day I was hiking up my trail with Billy, noticing the fallen leaves and green moss on the trees. The week before had been distressing to me. I was catapulted back to the day President Bush bombed Iraq, seeing it live on the TV in the 24hour fitness gym locker room. I was in shock. The worry came over me immediately when I heard of the Paris bombings, not only for the people killed that day but for all the retaliation that would come from America, France, and Britain, and all the innocent lives destroyed in a never ending war. But I came to terms with this new world, I can only act through being myself. I believe we are all connected in this world, I cannot escape suffering or avoid the suffering of others, or change it in any big way. When I started working today I felt a freedom I haven’t felt in a long time. A rebellion of any type of pre-set ideas or categories I need to be or be in. I have a new found militant rebellion against stagnation. Part of this is most definitely from working with other like-minded free thinking artists.

Then there’s the babies. We have turned a page, this brings sadness because they are growing so fast and moving farther away from me in their exploration of this world, but also becoming part of the human race. They accompanied me on a Gallery excursion, an hour away. We went to lunch and saw the show, the babies were perfect. (For two year olds) They got along with my friends and my friends liked them. It was really cool, I was glad they were with me because it was such a fun day and I wanted them to see art. On Saturday I wanted to work in my notebook and color with the babies. I set everything up and started working. At first the babies ate paint, fiddled around, left the table to do other things, then came back, while I kept working. Then, about a half hour later I had both babies starting to express pure creativity. They started doing their own things, coloring, painting, stamping, stickering. I was surprised to learn that babies need time to get creative too, a warm up. It was exciting.

And so it goes and so it goes. Things are looking good.
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First Day GAP collab and “A Duck on a Bicycle”

November 19th, 2015
A fly buzzes up and down the inside of the window, a weed blower just broke a perfect silence, the babies are down for their nap, it’s 2:25 on Thursday afternoon. I would love to have a nice hot cup of coffee, but I have to compromise with herbal tea or I’ll be up all night. Today Jack, Fiona, and I went and got our flu shots. We had to wait quite a while, the babies started getting restless and wanted out of the stroller. The waiting room had chairs and soft benches they wanted to sit on. I finally gave in and started reading a story, “A Duck on a Bike”. Surprisingly I had Jack and Fiona’s complete attention and corporation. As I was reading the book I felt a little silly, with my silly voice, then another little girl and her mom came over and listened to me reading the book. All three kids were happy as pie. The other little girl was a little older so I could engage with her more than I can with jack and Fiona. It was cool and embarrassing all at the same time. My silly voice. We go into a room, which is set up for Code Blue, with cardiac kits and supplies for resuscitation. I thought of my mom, re-lived the hospital room, the last moments of her life, as I tried to keep Jack and Fiona busy enough to think we were doing something fun. The nurse comes in, Jack had opened a drawer with supplies, a little yellow tag fell off,

“Did you do that?’ she asks me.

“Umm, I’m not sure, I think Jack may have opened a drawer, is it bad?”

“Yes”

“Sorry, jack we’re in trouble”

Whoops, well I’m doing the best I can. It’s challenging with two two year olds in a situation like this. They are curious. The nurse gives me my shot first, the needle is big.

“Look, mommies getting her shot, then you’ll get yours” I tell them with a smile on my face.

It hurts just a touch and then I don’t feel anything. The babies get their shots, they cry a little, but then they must not feel any pain anymore either because they get over it quickly.

They were good babies today.

Yesterday I had my first GAP collaboration session with Carl Heyward and Alvaro Sanchez. It was so fun, we made some really cool collabs. I was nervous and wondered how it would go, but I felt immediately engaged and connected to both artists. I’m really excited about GAP and working on projects with artists from around the world. I started working in a couple new books today for our GAP collab project. We’ve got a bunch started now, we’re passing them around so everyone has a chance to work in them. As I opened one of the books, it is the first book I didn’t start, meaning it already had information and mark making from other GAP artists. It felt like I was peeking into someone’s secret book. I looked through some of the pages and notes, I felt a personal connection. I wanted to know more about who wrote the notes, made the marks, what day it was, where were they? What state of mind were they in? It also made me think of street art in the way that I am covering up, reworking, adding to something someone else made. It agrees with me, this process, the way I work and think.

Today when I worked in my studio on my “Nap time paintings” I worked on some collab and a few of “Just me” and noticed a difference in the way I looked at/ worked on/ made decisions on my “Own” pieces. It is really interesting. I learn so much about painting by working on collab. I also feel like I can work more freely on my own stuff, like there’s a healthy detachment, or I can look at it from a very un- self-critical way, more than ever before.

I’m starting to hear Jack and Fiona waking up from their nap. Time to get back to work as mom.
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